Electrical hose signaling apparatus



PATENTED JAN. 12, 1904r W. G. SHELBY; ELECTRICAL HOSE SIGNALING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

A A n Zlfilmaws:

, lings as well and are electrically connected at 5 be broken by any accidental unscrewing of To all whom, it may concern:

No. 749,633. Patented January 12, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

IVILLIAM Gr. SEELEY, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRICAL HOSE SIGNALING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 749,633, dated January 12, 1904. Application filed May 25, 1903. Serial No. 158,621. (No model.)

the parts of the coupling, such as is liable to occur in practice, and will have no tendency to lose its operativeness with use or wear. To this end I utilize the metallic threads of the engaging portions of the couplings as contactterminals for both branches of the signalingcircuit, each screw-threaded portion being formed in two parts which are suitably insulated from each other and each of these parts being electrically connected with one branch of the circuit in such manner that when the half-couplings are screwed together each separate part of the screw-threads on one halfcoupling engages a corresponding portion of the screw-threads on the other half-coupling and makes electrical contact therewith.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the adjacent ends of two lengths of hose connected by a screw coupling and provided with my improvements in their preferred form. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of what is shown in Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view, also on an enlarged scale, showing a movable contactpiece employed in my construction; and Fig. 4: is a plan view, partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 3 as viewed from the left of said figure.

Referring to the drawings, 2 and 3 represent the two halves of a screw-coupling attached to corresponding lengths of hose, the half-coupling 3 having a swiveled collar 4:, which is provided internally with screwthreads adapted to engage the externallyscrew-threaded end of the half-coupling 2 in accordance with the usual and well known construction. The screw-threaded portion of each half-coupling, however, is divided into two parts or sections, which are insulated from each other. Thus referring to the halfcoupling 2, it is shown as having its end portion 5 externally reduced in diameter and screw threaded to receive an internallyscrew-threaded ring 6, which is best made of hard rubber. The outer end of this ring 6 is also externally reduced in diameter and screwthreadcd to receive a metallic ring 7, which is thus insulated from the body portion of the half coupling. The external screw-threads Be it known that 1, WILLIAM Gr. SEELEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electrical Hose Signaling Apparatus, of which the following-is a specification.

My invention relates to the electrical transmission of signals from the nozzle of a firehose to the engine, pump, or other source from which water is supplied to the hose. According to a common construction of such signaling systems the body portions of the hose-couplings are included in and made to form a part of one branch of the electrical circuit, the other branch being formed either by the ground itself, which is objectionable for many reasons, or by conductors which are completely insulated from the respective lengths of hose which carry them and from the coupthe couplings by means of suitable insulated contact-pieces. These contact-pieces as usually constructed heretofore have been so arranged, however, that the necessary contact between them is not made unless the parts of the hose-coupling are firmly and immovably secured together, said contact being dependent on the elasticity of springs of one sort or another, which are compressed when the contact is made, and it has been found that such arrangements are objectionable, partly because spring-contacts are apt to lose their elasticity, and therefore their operativeness, after a certain amount of use, but chiefly because when water under pressure is turned into a hose the hose tends to straighten under the pressure of the water, as is well known, and by this straightening the hose is often made to rotate a greater or less portion of a turn, with the result that the screw-couplings commonly employed become slightly unscrewed, hus breaking the contact between the contact-terminals above referred to and rendering the circuit inoperative.

My invention is intended to remedy the defects above described by providing for a screwcoupled hose a signaling-circuit which cannot lines to provide on this half-coupling, which are engaged by l ment 15, forming a part of the half-coupling, the screw-threzuls on the collar 4, are formed I thence through the insulating ring 6, and partly in the metallic ring 7, partly in the inthence through or into the metallic ring 7, to sulating-ring (5, and partly in the body porl which its bared end is soldered. The wire 12 tion of the half-coupling itself, the metallic corresponding to the half-coupling 3 is elecscrew-threads being thus divided into two secl trically connected with the metallic ring 10; tions or portions, which are insulated from but since this ring 10 moves with the swiveled each other. .111 a similar manner the internal collar which carries it it is necessary to proscrew threads on the swiveled collar 4: are vide a movable contact between this wire 12 formed partly in a metallic ring 8, partly in and said ring 10, and to this end I prefer to an insulating-ring 9, and partly in another insert an insulatingbushing 16 in a hole metallic ring 10, the ring 10 being screwed drilled lengthwise through the annular abutinto an annular enlargement formed in the ment 1'7 of the halfcoupling 3, into which ring 9, the ring 9 being screwed into the colbushing the end of the wire 12 passes. A rnelar 4, and the ring 8 being screwed directly tallic tip 18 leads from the end of the wire 12 into the outer end of said collar in such manthrough the bushing 16, and a metallic spring nor that the metallic rings 8 and 10 are sepaf 19 is secured to the end of said tip, said spring rated by the ring 9, and thereby insulated being formed to extend around a portion of from each other. These rings are so posithe circumference of the half-coupling 3 and tioned and proportioned that when the halfto bear against the interior of the ring 10 in couplings are screwed together the ring 8 is all positions of the latter, a suflicient space in contact with the body portion of the halfbeing provided at one end of the internal coupling 2, the insulating-rings 6 and 9 are screw-threads formed on said ring to receive in contact with each other, and the metallic said spring. Inasmuch as the collar 4 has no rings 7 and 10 are in contact with each other, movement toward or away from the halfand a sufficient number of threads are formed coupling 3, there is no tendency at any time on each of these rings to permit a partial to vary the compression of the spring contactunscrewing of the half couplings without piece 19 or to cause it and the ring 10 to sepadisengaging the metallic screw-threads carrate.

ried by either half-coupling from the corre- Each of the circuit-wires 12 is preferably sponding metallic screw-threads on the other formed near its attached ends into a coil 20, half-coupling with which they are intended extending completely around the correspondto engage. The desired contact will evidently ing half-coupling and located in an annular be secured, even though the metallic sections groove 21, formed therein, the object of this on one of the half-couplings do not form comarrangement being to provide for the acciplete rings. The engaging metallic screwdental separation of a length of hose and its threaded sections are respectively connected half-coupling without breaking the circuitto insulated circuit-wires 11 and 12, with which wire, and to the same end the circuit-wires 11 each length of hoseis provided and which form are provided near their attached. end with a parts of the signaling-circuit leading to the number of loops 22, both of these arrangehose-nozzle. These wires are preferably emments being old in the art.

bedded in the substance of the hose itself, so Each length of hose is secured at its end to that they will not be located within the waterthe corresponding half-coupling in any suitway and extend along the hose in sinuous able manner, as by means ofa ring 23, which for the lengthening of the is expanded against the interior of the hose, hose, which occurs when it is filled with water and thus clamps the latter against the corruunder pressure, this being a usual construegated inner wall of the half-coupling.

tion. Each wire 11 is attached at its ends di- 24 and 25 represent packing-rings located rectly to the half-couplings to which it leads, between the ends of the hose and the annular as at 13, this branch of the circuit being, thereabutments of the respective half-couplings, fore, completed by the engagement of the inand 26 represents a packing-ring located beternal threads on the ring 8 with the threads tween the meeting ends of the half-couplings, formed on the body portion of the half-coupthis packing-ring being recessed at one side ling 2 when the half-couplings are screwed tosufliciently to receive the contact-piece l9. gether. The wire 11 for the half-coupling 3 is not shown in the drawings, being located on the opposite side of the hose from the wire 12; but it will be understood that it is attached to the half-coupling 3 in the same manner in which the corresponding wire 11 is attached to the half-coupling 2, as shown in Fig. 1. The wire 12 corresponding to the halfcoupling 2 is passed at its end through an in sulating-bushing let, inserted in a hole drilled lengthwise through the internal annular abutare screwed together one branch of the signaling-circuit leads through the wires 11, the body portions of the half-couplings themselves, the collar 4:, and the ring 8, and the other branch leads through the wires 12, ring 6, ring 10, and contact-piece l9, and it will be seen that this construction not only provides for the partial rotation of the collar 4 without breaking either branch of the signal ing-circuit, but also leaves the waterway with- As thus constructed when the half-couplings in the hose and coupling wholly unobstructed by anything which might interfere with or be damaged by the flow of water. The contactsurfaces between the half-couplings are kept bright and clean by the frictional rubbing of the threads due to the coupling and uncoupling oi' the lengths of hose, and the points of contact between the contact-piece 19 and the ring 10 are also kept bright in a similar manner by the rotation of said ring 10 with respect to the half-couplings when the collar 4 is turned.

What I claim is 1. The combination of two half-couplings adapted to be screwed together, an insulating device separating the engaging screw-threaded portion of each half-coupling into two sections each adapted to engage the corresponding section on the other half-coupling, and circuit-wires electrically connected with said sections respectively.

2. The combination of two half-couplings adapted to be screwed together, the engaging screw-threaded portion of each half-coupling comprising two sections one of which is insulated from the body portion of the half-coupling, circuit-wires connected respectively with the insulated section of each half-coupling, and circuit-wires attached directly to the respective half-couplings.

3. The combination of a half-coupling provided with external screw-threads, an insulating-ring dividing said threads into two sections, circuit-wires connected with said sections respectively, a cooperating half-coupling having an internally-sorew-threaded, swiveled collar, the screw-threads on said swiveled collar being also divided into two sections by an insulating-ring, a contact-piece carried 4 by the body portion of the latter half-coupling and arranged in contact with one of said sections, and circuit-wires connected with said contact-piece and with the other of said sections respectively.

1. The combination of a half-coupling provided with an insulating-ring 6 and a metallic ring 7 carried by said insulating-ring 6, said half-coupling and ring 7 being provided with external screw-threads, circuit-wires leading to said half-coupling and ring 7 respectively, a cooperating half-coupling provided with a metallic ring 8, an insulating-ring 9 and a metallic ring 10 carried by said insulating-ring 9, said rings 8 and 10 being internally screwthreaded to cooperate with the screw-threads on the other half-coupling, and circuit-wires leading to said rings 8 and 10 respectively.

5. The combination of a half-coupling 2 provided with an insulating-ring 6 and a metallic ring 7 carried by said insulating-ring 6, said half-coupling and ring 7 being externally screw-threaded, circuit-wires connected respectively with the half-couplingQ and to the ring 7 a cooperating half-coupling 3 provided with a swiveled collar 4, a metallic ring 8 carried by said collar, an insulating-ring 9 also carried by said collar, a metallic ring 10 carried by said insulating-ring, said rings 8 and 10 being internally screw-threaded, an insulated metallic contact-piece 19 carried by the half-coupling 3 and arranged in contact with the ring 10, and circuit-wires connected respectively with the half-coupling 3 and the contact-piece 19.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 16th day of May, 1903.

WILLIAM G. SEELEY.

Witnesses:

ELMER E. WILLIAMS, E. D. CHADwIcK. 

